An ever-pressing issue when it comes to how our food is produced, animal welfare has become an important topic for Slow Food in recent years, with increasing attention being given to the debate and our projects that have a direct impact on the conditions in which animals are raised. This month we continue to make our voice heard – this time in Brussels, as we participate in two conferences on the issue.

Today, Piero Sardo, President of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, will talk at the European Commission at the conference: Main achievements of the EU strategy for the welfare of animals 2012-2015. The European Commission is organizing the conference on occasion of their mid-term assessment of the EU strategy on animal welfare. The Commission is due to start the preparations for the draft of the EU general animal welfare framework law. It is therefore of utmost importance for Slow Food to engage in dialogue with the EU at this stage in discussions to ensure the views and needs of small-scale farmers on this issue are not overlooked.

Also in Brussels, next week Anne-Marie Matarrese, representing Slow Food on animal welfare, will speak at the conference: Averting Farmageddon: Sustainable Food for All, organized by Compassion in World Farming and the Greek Presidency of the EU. The event will focus on the impacts of intensive animal agriculture – on people, on the planet and on animals – as well as the positive solutions available to us. Matarrese will discuss the importance of a holistic approach to food and farming in European policy, an approach that must include animal welfare as a priority. Other speakers will include Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Food and Ben Caspar, Coordinator of the EU Sustainable Food Communication in EU Commission Directorate-General for the Environment. This event is open to the public. Find out more.